Courtesy of Tollin/Robbins Productions
“I know; Trademark. But what are they going to say? It’s in my Skin, B*tch!”
Even if you’re not immersed in Wild Hogs dialogue, you will probably still appreciate this sight-gag. Dudley, the Sportster-riding Computer geek, sheepishly confesses to a ‘Huge Tattooed Biker’ who got his ‘tats’ in Leavenworth, that he got his at Meadow Hills Galleria. Instead of a skull with a knife through it, Dudley sports an Apple Computer trademark.
When he first showed it to the other Wild Hogs, and they warn him it might cause a lawsuit for copyright infringement, he uttered these classic words; “I know; Trademark. But what are they going to say? It’s in my skin, b*tch!”
This implies, of course, that once something is inside you, it’s there to stay. And there’s something inside all of us sons and daughters of Adam that is there to stay, our very human nature. Because we were created in God’s image, much of what comes out is beautiful. And other things from within, not so much.
How can it be that way? The Bible gives us a hint: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work”. Ever had to teach a child to lie, steal toys, hit, or scream ‘no’? It’s natural, but it can grow up to murder, mayhem, divorce, domestic violence, war, and untold human-caused misery. Don’t believe me? Watch the news, read the paper, or think of yourself and your darkest imaginations.
Since we’re on the New Testament 3:16 Highway, let’s pause at the Roman rest stop for a moment.
“…ruin and misery mark their ways,” – Romans 3:16
This is just a snippet from a larger description of what we would be if it not for God reaching out to us through Jesus Christ and His Spirit. If you read the entire description, suffice it to say, it ain’t a pretty picture. While few of us are as bad as we can be, none of us are as good as we were created to be. We’re fallen, and not just in the parking lot, on a gravely spot in the road, or on a rain-slick highway.
Fallen, but precious, loved by God while we were still living a self-harming life, breaking the rules, and treating others like possessions-kind of a life. That’s how we live, knowing we’re precious and unique before God, yet torn apart inside with guilt, shame, and self-loathing. Or maybe deep hurt from the abuse of others. Somewhere along the way, all that hurt turned into a hard shell through which no one can penetrate because it’s not safe to trust others.
There is release from this kind of life. It too is found at other rest stops in the book of Romans. They include, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23); ‘the wages of sin is death’ (6:23a), “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23b). Here’s the truly great news from 10:9-10; “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
So, whatever is in your skin, God can change through Christ and His Gospel.
Off the main highway: The fallen condition of man is something we wish was off the main highway. But its square in the middle of the road, staring at us from the headlines, and rumbling deep in our own hearts. But no matter how bad the bad news, the Good News of Christ is greater. Jesus saves!
